None of these next features are required in a slide show, and, in fact, would be used only if you are creating a live talk, by running the presentation on a computer and projection device.

Applying Transitions to Slides

Slide transition refers to what happens on your screen when you go from one slide to another. The default is no transition, which means one slide disappears and the next appears, as you play your slide show. To see the transition effect, you have to actually play the slide show. So far in the "newsletter tips" set, the Normal transition has been used.

You can apply a transition to a single slide or multiple slides using the Slide Editor View. Click on FORMAT on the menu bar, then Slide Properties, Transition. The "Slide Properties" dialog box will appear. You can select from a list of over 50 transitions. If you select a transition and click on [OK], that transition is applied to the current slide. There is an option in the dialog box to "Apply to all slides in slide show." Another selection in the dialog box affects the speed of the transition, and yet another (for direction) is activated only on certain types of transitions.

Exercise 7

Work with the "Lesson 3 tips" file so you can feel free to experiment. Open the file in the Slide Editor View and go to Slide 1. Click on FORMAT, Slide Properties, Transition and examine some of the types of transitions. Just a little experimentation here will clarify what "transition" does.

Be sure to check out these transitions:

• dissolve
• mosaic
• sweep
• slide in from corner
• slide our to corner
• circles
• clock

Select a transition that you like and then check the box to apply it to all slides. Close the dialog box by clicking on [OK]. Use the [Play Show] button on the Property bar and play your slide show. Notice what happens as you go from slide to slide. Remember, you can stop the show by pressing the <Esc> key.

Rather than apply a transition to all slides, or one by one, you can get in the Slide Sorter View and select multiple slides, by holding down the <Ctrl> key as you click on the slides. With multiple slides selected, you can then apply a transition to only those selected slides.

The Slide Sorter View is useful if you want to quickly see the transitions applied to your slides. It is the only view mode that displays the transition being used for a given slide.

Exercise 8

Get in Slide Sorter View and select Slide 1, hold down the <Ctrl> key and select the last slide. Apply another transition to those slides, by selecting it from the slide transitions list.

In Slide Sorter View you will see a reference to each transition below each slide. Play your slide show with the new transitions added.

There are no fixed rules on whether transitions are good or bad. A lot depends on your audience and the tone of your presentation. If you use transitions, it is probably better to use only one type in the slide set, and have another type only in key places, like if you are going into another section of the show. You need to use transitions with caution, especially multiple types of transitions in the same show, or your audience will start watching the transitions and not pay attention to what you are saying!!

Applying Transitions to Bullets

Another visual effect you can easily create is applying animation or transitions to bullets. This effect displays each bullet item separately as the slide is played. That is, first you see the title, then pressing <Enter> or clicking with the mouse has the first bullet appear, then clicking again has the second bullet appear, etc. This can help keep the audience's attention on what you are saying, rather than letting them "read ahead" on the slide.

Change to the Slide Editor View and select a bulleted chart area. Click on FORMAT, Object Properties, Object Animation to access the "Bulleted List Properties" window. Select either (1) Animate object in place, then click an effect, and its direction (if available) and speed; or (2) Animation object across screen, then click an effect, and its direction (if available) and speed. Within this same dialog box at the bottom right are options of "Display one at a time" (each bullet item is presented separately); "Highlight current bullet" (with previous bullets on same slide dimmed), and "Display in reverse order" (placing bullets from bottom to top on the slide).

You do not have to apply bullet transitions to all bulleted slides in your talk. You can select certain slides for this effect, if you want.

You basically have to experiment with this feature and determine which (if any) should be used. It depends again on your audience and the tone of the presentation. If, however, you are applying transitions between slides, you may just want to use a Normal transition for the bullets.

Exercise 9

Use the "Lesson 3 tips" slide set, and get into Slide Editor View. Go to Slide 2, the Introduction slide, and select the bulleted area so it has handles. Click on FORMAT, Object Properties, Object Animation. Select "Animate object across screen" and click the Fly In effect and Left to Right direction. At the bottom right of the dialog box, check "Display one at a time." Click [OK] to close the dialog box, go back to Slide 1 and play your slide show, for several slides at least. What is your reaction to "animating" the bullet information? Save this version of the slide set, if you want.

If you are printing overheads or making 35mm slides, applying transitions to bullets has no effect. You can "fake" this effect by making several copies of a bullet slide, and on the first slide in the "series" have just one bullet, on the next slide, add in the second bullet line, etc., until all of the bullets are appearing.

Adding Sounds

You saw in the "Slide Properties" dialog box an option for applying sounds to slides. This is much like applying transitions. Use of sounds to "announce" a particular slide is another way to get attention and its use would depend on your situation and audience. You would, however, usually never have a sound attached to every slide, but only selected slides at important transition places. To apply a sound to a particular slide, get in Slide Editor View and have the slide you want to use active. Click on FORMAT, Slide Properties, Sound on the menu bar. The "Slide Properties" box appears with the sound page selected.

You can apply sounds from .WAV files, .MIDI files or a CD. WAV is a sound format developed by Microsoft and used extensively in Microsoft Windows. There are 15 .WAV files that are found in the \COREL\SUITE8\SOUNDS folder on the installation CD. Typically WAV files are sound effects or someone speaking. MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a communications standard created by electronic musical equipment vendors. Thus, MIDI files will be some type of music. There are 12 MIDI files in the \COREL\SUITE8\SOUNDS folder on the installation CD. To use musical CDs, you must have a CD player and sound hardware compatible with Windows 95 MPC standards connected to your computer.

There is an optional exercise at the end for working with sounds, if you want.

Learning Corel Presentations 8.0